Re: wd-xml-names: precedence rules for attribute specification

james anderson (James.Anderson@mecomnet.de)
Tue, 11 Aug 1998 23:54:33 +0200


Tim Bray wrote:
>
> At 09:33 PM 8/11/98 +0200, james anderson wrote:
> >IV. please specify the precedence rules for attribute "specification".
> >
> >there are three states in the following matrix
>
> I can't understand the rows & columns of the matrix. Could you

Gee, and I thought that, of all the questions, this one was the clearest...

There are two places the attribute can be "attached": in the element itself
and in some element in its context. The respective attachment can be by
appearance in the start tag or by declaration of a default in attlist. i had
understood the draft to allow both forms of attachment. (the recent examples
to xml-dev - including from mr. clark, left me in the belief that i was
correct) thus the 16 positions in the table.

default = attlist declaration
binding = presence in the start tag.

the problem state are

(cb/-- X --/ed) a context binding and element default
(--/-- X cd/ed) nothing present in the elements in the document entity, just
in the
declarations
(cb/-- X cd/ed) a combination of the above

> provide some examples? In particular I can't understand
> what you mean by "default presence in attribute declaration"
> and "attribute presence in element".
>

Just now i have to catch a train (i'm nine hours ahead of you folks).
if this is all still unclear in the morning i'll set myself to some examples.

> Surely you're not talking about default attribute values in
> <!ATTLIST declarations? If so, that's a non-issue; the defaults
> are there if it's not explicitly specified, they're not there if
> it is explicitly specified, there can be no ambiguity. -Tim

Please look at the table again, given my explanation above.

What about the case where it appears as a default in the containing element
and as a default in the contained element?